1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal such as a Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) phone, a game phone, a chatting phone, a camera phone, an MP3 phone, a cellular phone, a Personal Communication System (PCS) phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Hand Held Phone (HHP), etc., and more particularly to a data input device by which it is possible to input desired data through rotation or pressing of the input device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable communication terminals refer to electronic devices that a user can carry and perform wireless communication with his/her partner. As an example of wireless communication, there are many kinds of functions such as a voice communication function, a message sending function, a file sending function, an image communication function, a camera function, etc. Additionally, portable communication terminals can also play the role of a personal secretary who manages telephone numbers, personal schedules, etc.
Furthermore, portable communication terminals have been developed for compactness, slimness, grip, and lightness in consideration of portability, and to provide multimedia capabilities to allow the user to pursue a wider variety of functions, for example, in regard to entertainment content including games, movies, etc. as an important function of the portable communication terminals. In the future, it is expected that portable communication terminals will tend to be complicated devices having multiple functions including image communication, games, Internet, and a camera, as well as a simple voice communication.
In consideration of portability or convenience of use, conventional portable communication terminals are classified into a bar-type communication terminal or a folder-type communication terminal according to their appearance. The bar-type communication terminal has a bar-type single body on which an input/output device, an antenna apparatus, and a transmitter/receiver are mounted; and the folder-type communication terminal has a folder connected to a bar-type single housing by means of a hinge device in such a manner that the folder can be rotated to fold onto or unfold from the housing. Additionally, portable communication terminals may be classified into a swing-type communication terminal or a sliding-type communication terminal according to the way of opening and closing the terminals. In the swing-type communication terminal, two housings are coupled to each other in a manner such that one housing swings to open or close with respect to the other while facing each other. In the sliding-type communication terminal, two housings are coupled to each other in a manner such that one housing slides to open or close with respect to the other.
In all portable communication terminals as listed above, a User Interface (UI) environment has been optimized in order to input desired data in a more convenient way. A dome switch, which is pressed in a general way to input data, has been employed. Additionally, desired data can be input by rotating a rotation key.
A configuration of a conventional data input device, which rotates to input data, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. A portable communication terminal 200 shown in FIG. 1 is a bar-type terminal. The bar-type portable communication terminal includes a display unit 212, multiple keys 214, a speaker unit 216, and a microphone unit 218, etc., which are mounted on an upper surface of the main body thereof. Additionally, a data input device 220, which is rotated to input data, may be mounted on a side surface 202 of the main body.
As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional data input device 220 is an auxiliary data input device, which includes a jog-shuttle key 222 mounted on the side surface 202 of the main body so that a portion of the jog-shuttle key 222, including a protrusion 221, is exposed to the outside, an operating sensor 224 which operates depending on a limited rotation of the jog-shuttle key 222, an elastic body 226 allowing the jog-shuttle key 222 to return to an initial position, and a pair of cases 228 supporting the elastic body 226. The user forcibly rotates the protrusion 221 of the key which is exposed to the outside, so as to input desired data.
However, the data input device used as the conventional auxiliary data input device needs to secure a large mounting space in consideration of the radius of rotation of the key. As a result, this makes it difficult to miniaturize portable communication terminals. Particularly, the conventional data input device has problems in that the range for inputting data is small, due to a limited rotation operation of a key, and that the protruding key causes finger soreness.